All-India banks on 2-day strike from Monday

New Delhi: Banking services in the country would be hit from Monday, with staff of both public and private sector banks planning a two-day strike against the proposed banking sector reforms and for immediate revision in wages.

Over a million bank employees and officers working in 27 public sector banks, including the State Bank of India, and 12 private and eight foreign banks, will go on a two-day nationwide strike Feb 10-11, the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) Sunday said.

UFBU is the umbrella organisation of five employee unions and four officer unions of state-run banks. All nine unions under its aegis have given the strike call.

UFBU had earlier called a strike on Jan 20-21, which was deferred after the Indian Banks Association (IBA) increased its initial offer to 9.5 percent, from 5 percent, with a promise to improve it further.

However, at the discussions on Jan 27, the IBA increased its offer by just 0.5 percent to 10 percent, which was rejected by the UFBU. It has been seeking an increase of 30 percent on the grounds that wage revision is pending since November 2012.

UFBA said it had called the strike as the discussions on wage revision have been very tardy since the last one year.